I know this is a very touchy subject throughout the internet meat community :blabla: . But hear me out.

Do any of you dry age your own steaks? I understand it's very difficult, dangerous, and an exact science. From what I've read, you want a dedicated fridge, which is between 34-37 F, with plenty of air circulation, you want to limit bacteria if at all possible, if it smells or looks bad, chuck it.

I gotta think someone on this ingenious forum out there has done it. None of us have ever had dry-aged steaks (we like beef but eat it fairly rarely) and the prices are astronomical for the commercial stuff.

I'm thinking I'd have to buy a mini-fridge of CL and sanitize the heck out of it so I have a devoted space to dry age.

Thanks

The_Kapn

08-03-2012 10:39 AM

I just did a search on "dry aged" here and found a ton of threads.

I gotta run now or I would link them for you.
Maybe later.

TIM

JimF

08-03-2012 10:42 AM

I have dry aged cuts of beef in my home refrigerator. I wrapped the steaks in a paper towel and placed on the bottom shelf of my fridge. Ideal aging temps are between 35-37 degrees. I placed mine on top of an upside down tupperware container to allow air to circulate to the under side. Each day I would replace the paper towel and flip the steaks. Some say 3 days is all you need but something came up and I aged for 5 days. The steaks were deliciously tender. I highly recommend trying it.
If you want to dry age a side of beef then you will need a dedicated fridge with an internal fan, and humidity control. Large slabs of beef needs 35+ days to age properly. Some restaurants age in excess of 4 months. But for single steaks, only a couple days is needed.

There is a Google search box near the bottom of every page that searched just this site.

hnd

08-03-2012 10:47 AM

1 Attachment(s)

here is my instruction sheet if you have a small fridge lying around. otherwise, i've seen guys using their beer fridge with relative success but i had the fridge.

twinsfan

08-03-2012 10:57 AM

Thanks Ron and hnd, I looked around on Google a lot but never thought to search the Brethren. Shoulda thought of that :rolleyes:

Well maybe I'll pick up a boneless choice rib roast and try this. Love to try some some NY Strip steaks dry aged.

Thanks

Teleking

08-03-2012 11:20 AM

Alton Brown Mod.

Scubadoo97

08-03-2012 08:12 PM

Dry Bags work very well. It's best if you're dealing with a subprimal due to the crust that must be removed. The results are stellar

caseydog

08-03-2012 08:20 PM

I have never done a full dry aging, but I regularly give my choice or prime ribeyes a 24-hour mini-dry. I put fine sea salt and fresh ground black pepper on them, put them on a cookie cooling rack, and let them sit for a day in my fridge.

They will typically lose an ounce or more in water weight in that one day.

When I grill them, they get a beautiful char, and I can taste a mild, but noticeable difference.

Without a dedicated fridge, I wouldn't attempt a full dry age.

CD

CarolinaQue

08-03-2012 08:35 PM

I do it quite often. If you do a whole roast for the full dry age, you definately need a dedicated fridge that get's very little use. But, you can cut a primal down, or buy individual steaks and do a 1 to 3 day age (depending on how thick the steaks are) on a cooling rack above a sheet pan on the bottom shelf of your fridge.

I'm about to try aging roasts using those UMAi aging bags and my new vacuum sealer. After I age it for 21ish days, can I trim them, slice them into steaks and vacuum seal them individually to freeze or do they need to be consumed right away?

aawa

10-24-2012 08:25 AM

TheGrillingNetwork on youtube is a brethern. He did a 28 day dry aged ribeye in the Umai bags. He highly recommends them. I am going to give them a try soon.